Motorola announces new Moto X, Moto G phones

[haven]

Here’s the rundown on the new Motorola smartphones announced today


1. Motorola Moto X Style
starting at $400, available September
5.7 inch, 1440x2560 pixels, 520 ppi IPS LCD display
21 Megapixel rear camera, f/2.0 (probably a Sony design)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 1.8 GHz
3 GB RAM
16, 32 or 64 GB storage memory
microSD card slot, up to 128 GB
3000 mAh battery
water repellant coating
dual front-facing speakers
“Moto Maker” customizable back plate
Android 5.1 with Motorola features added
most likely available through cell phone carriers


2. Motorola Moto X Pure
http://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones/moto-x-pure.html
starting at $400, available in September
same hardware specs as Moto X Style
stock Android 5.x
unlocked, will work on all major USA carriers with change of SIM card
available from Motorola, maybe some carriers too


3. Motorola Moto X Play
http://www.motorola.co.uk/moto-x/moto-x-play-uk.html
initially not for sale in USA
price starting about $300
5.5 inch, 1080x1920 display
21 Megapixel rear camera, f/2.25
3630 mAh battery, quick charge technology (21% larger than Moto X Style)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 1.7 GHz
2 GB RAM
16 or 32 GB storage
water-repellant coating
Android 5.1 with Motorola additions
fewer LTE bands, probably tailored to countries where it will be sold


4. Motorola Moto G
available now
$179 for 1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage
$219 for 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage
Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 1.4 GHz
5 inch, 720x1280 IPS LCD screen
micro SD slot
water resistant coating
13 Megapixel f/2.0 rear camera (same as Nexus 6)
Moto Maker customizations

 

[haven]

Summer through Fall is the time when many manufacturers announce new smartphone models. Prior to Motorola's announcement, OnePlus announced the Two. In August, Samsung is expected to announce new Galaxy phones. And September has been the month when Apple announces new iPhones. So by October, we should know what the smartphone landscape will look like for another year.

With the 5.95 inch display in the Nexus 6 and the 5.5 inch screens in the new Moto X models, Motorola has joined other manufacturers in the "too large for a phone" club. Moto has a design advantage, however. Their phones have a slightly rounded back, making the phone fit your hand. You have to hold the flat-back phones from Apple and Samsung along their edges, making them more prone to accidental drops.

Frankly, the $650 "flagship" phones are less and less attractive to me. The $219 Moto G is going to be a big success.

 

[haven]

Now it appears that Motorola will NOT sell the Moto X Style phone in USA, at least initially. Only the Moto X Pure will be available in September.

The Pure and Style have identical hardware, and both will ship with Android 5.x OS. The difference is in extra software added by the cell phone carriers. The Pure will offer almost stock Android. This will simplify and accelerate the process of upgrading the phone when Google releases a new version of Android. It's very frustrating to have to wait months for the carriers to complete testing software updates before they make the new version available.

The $400 phone will be sold by Motorola directly, and by Best Buy and Amazon.

Samsung just announced falling profits due in part to slow sales of the Galaxy S6 phone. The company said they plan to lower prices to stimulate sales. I expect we'll see more offers from cell phone carriers of a Galaxy S6 for zero dollars down when you sign up for a 24 month contract. If you have to pay more than $17 a month on contract, you're paying more than the $400 you'd have to pay Motorola.

 

[mpinco]

Cell phone manufactures are becoming boring. At least Androids. Same OS, majority using 5 apps. Same for iOS. Pretty soon it will be consolidation, virtualization and appliance time. Android, iOS and ? On same phone.

 

[haven]

Gizmodo and Engadget recently chose the Moto G (the new 2015 version) to be the best smartphone choice for those on a budget.

http://gizmodo.com/the-best-cheap-smartphone-for-every-off-contract-need-1671295476

http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/11/moto-g-review-2015/

 

[mpinco]

With Verizon's move to eliminate subsidies, expect consumers to move to lower end phones and extend refresh cycle.

Uh oh, Apple analysts are predicting zero growth for the iPhone at the end of the year

Also expect security to be a primary issue going forward, even for your typical consumer. (Ex: HTC storing fingerprint files in clear text)